Pistachio Meringue with Lime Buttercream

A showstopper of a coffee (AA Kiang'ombe #186) calls for a matching fika recipe that's also something special. Taking inspiration from the intense fruits present in the coffee we've come up with a cake sandwich that's hard to resist.

1. Set the oven at 175 C / 350 F / Gas 32. Grind the 150 grams of pistachio nuts in a mill or a mixer.

3. Separate the egg whites from the yolks (keep the yolks, you need them for the lime buttercream) and put them in a bowl. 4. Whisk the egg whites until they're hard before adding the sugar and continuing to whisk. The mixture is ready when so hard that you can turn the bowl upside down without it falling out. 5. Gently fold in the nuts into the egg whites and sugar until mixed. 6. On a sheet of baking paper, draw a circle either 24 centimeter in diameter for one cake, or 6 centimeters in diameter for a bunch of smaller cakes (you'll get about 40 small bases = 20 cakes as they're made up of two layers). You need to do this on two sheets of baking paper, as the big cake has two bases. Spread the mixture out evenly within the circles.

7. Bake one tray at a time just under the middle of the oven, at 175 Celsius / 350 F / Gas 3, for about 20 minutes. The smaller cakes may need a little less time. Then immediately move the baked base or bases onto a fresh baking paper by turning it/them upside down and gently pulling off the paper. Let them cool on a rack.

Now for the lime buttercream. 8. Mix the egg yolks, cream, sugar and butter in a pot with a thick base. Heat up slowly while whisking all the time until it thickens. The cream can simmer, but not boil. 9. Remove from the heat, let rest for a short while, before stirring in the grated lime zest. Once the cream has cooled (you can leave it in the fridge for 30-60 minutes).

It's time to assemble the cake.

10. Spread a dollop of lime buttercream on one base, and then place another base on top. Then put a dollop of lime buttercream on the top one, and spread it out evenly. 11. Garnish with chopped pistachio nuts, or with fresh strawberries and pistachio nuts.